The JAK (Janus-associated kinase) family consists of four non-receptor tyrosine kinases, JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and Tyk2, which play a critical role in cytokine and growth factor mediated signal transduction (Schindler C, and Darnell J E Jr., Annu. Rev. Biochem. 1995; 64; 621-651). Cytokine and/or growth factor binding to cell-surface receptors facilitates activation of receptor-associated JAK kinases by autophosphorylation. Activated JAKs directly phosphorylate members of the STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) family of transcription factors (STAT1, 2, 3, 4, 5a, 5b and 6) promoting their translocation to the nucleus and the transcriptional activation of target genes.
Constitutive activation (i.e., tyrosine phosphorylation) of members of the STAT family, in particular STAT3, has been documented in a wide range of cancers and hyperproliferative disorders, and associated with poor prognosis in several cancers (Yu H, Jove R., Nat. Rev. Cancer 2004; 4:97-105). Persistently activated STAT3 has been shown to be oncogenic (Bromberg J F, et al. Cell 1999; 98:295-303) and to drive the expression of cellular proteins contributing to central processes in cancer progression (survival, proliferation, invasion, angiogenesis) (Yu and Jove, 2004, supra). One common mechanism of STAT3 activation in cancer cells is via autocrine or paracrine stimulation of JAK/STAT3 signaling by cytokines, typically members of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine family (Grivennikov, S. and Karin, M. Cancer Cell 2008; 13; 7-9; Bromberg J. and Wang T C. Cancer Cell 2009; 15; 79-80). This is primarily mediated by JAK1, the key JAK kinase responsible for STAT3 activation (Guschin et al., Embo J 1995; 14; 1421-1429., Kim S M, et al., Mol. Cancer Ther. 2012; 11; 2254-2264; Song et. al., Mol. Cancer Ther. 2011; 10; 481-494). Inactivation of negative regulatory proteins, such as the SOCS (suppressors of cytokine signalling) or PIAS (protein inhibitor of activated STATs) proteins have also been shown to influence the activation status of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway in cancer (Mottok et al., Blood 2007; 110; 3387-90; Ogata et al., Gastroenterology 2006; 131; 179-193., Lee et al., Mol. Cancer Ther. 2006; 5; 8-19, Brantley et al., Clin. Cancer Res. 2008; 14; 4694-4704).
In addition to basal activation of JAK1/STAT3 signaling in multiple human tumors, the pathway has also been shown to be activated as a feedback resistance mechanism in response to inhibition of driver oncogenic pathways in cancer cells, such as the mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), or the MAPK pathway in KRAS mutant tumors (Lee et al., Cancer Cell 2014; 26; 207-221; VanSchaeybroeck et al., Cell reports 2014; 7; 1940-1955). Thus inhibition of JAK1 may provide a means of potentiating the therapeutic benefit of a variety of targeted cancer therapies.
Also, cancer cachexia is a significant contributor to increased mortality and poor response to chemotherapy in patients with advanced cancer. Elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, which signal through the JAK/STAT pathway have been shown to play a causal role, indicating the potential benefit of JAK1 inhibition in ameliorating cancer cachexia.
Based on the critical role JAK1 plays in signal transduction mediated by class II cytokine receptors, the γc receptor subunit, the gp130 subunit and G-CSF, as well as its dominance in driving the activity of the immune-relevant γc cytokines, JAK1 inhibition may be useful in treating a number of immune disorders, such as bone marrow disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, lupus and multiple sclerosis.